Extradited Carlisle woman in court charged over people smuggling plot

Chantelle Genevieve Cook, 31, was not asked to enter a plea to the allegation when she appeared at city’s Rickergate court.

The defendant, who formerly lived at Springfield Road, Harraby, Carlisle, told the court that her permanent home is now in Spain, though she had plans to stay with a friend temporarily while she is in Carlisle.

She was brought before the court after being extradited. 

The charge she faces alleges that conspired with others to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law on dates in August 2020.

The prosecutor in court, Diane Jackson, said the case related to the discovery of eight Albanian men who were found hidden in the rear of two pick-up trucks.

The defendant is accused of hiring the vehicles that were used in the failed attempt to smuggle the asylum seekers into the UK. She was not invited to answer the charge at this stage for legal reasons.

But defence lawyer Duncan Campbell outlined some of the defendant’s version of what happened, though this can not yet be reported.

District Judge John Temperley sent the case to Carlisle Crown court for a plea hearing that will take on October 3. In the meantime, Cook was granted conditional bail.

He said that Cook would not be allowed to return to Spain and must surrender her passport; nor is she allowed to apply for any international travel documents.

The District Judge also imposed a reporting condition, stipulating that Cook must report to Carlisle’s Durranhill Police HQ on three days each week at specified times.

The final condition is that she must notify Cumbria Police within 48 hours of the local address she will be staying at.

The defendant wept throughout the early part of the hearing.

A number of other people have already been dealt with by the courts for involvement in the conspiracy that led to Cook being charged. Two men have been jailed for their part in the plot while the female defendant was given a suspended jail term.